Many people wonder how our state emblems became official. Laws
were passed to make the symbols official. "Lawmakers"
or "legislators" pass laws. In Massachusetts there are
two types of lawmakers, senators and representatives. These lawmakers
serve in the General Court. A senator belongs to a group of legislators
called the Senate and a representative belongs to another group
called the House of Representatives. Everyone in Massachusetts
is represented by a senator and a representative.
Anyone can give his or her legislator ideas for new laws. These ideas are written on "petition" forms. The petition is signed by a legislator and then sent to the clerk of the House of Representatives. The clerk gives the petition a number and it becomes a "bill". Copies are made of the bill and given to the senators and representatives who are on "committees".
The committee members have a meeting called a "hearing". Anyone can go to this hearing and say why a bill should or should not become a law. The committee members discuss the bill and recommend to the other legislators whether or not a bill should become a law.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate must each vote to make a bill a law before it can be sent to the governor, who is the head of our state. If the governor agrees that the bill should become a law, he puts his signature on it.
This is how our state emblems became official. People in Massachusetts can work with their legislators to make laws.